IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (KGTV) - A Coast Guard veteran stepped in to help a man in his 20s who walked into an Imperial Beach brewery with a stab wound to the back Saturday night.
The incident happened just before 8 p.m. According to the Sheriff's Office, an argument between two groups at Dune Park led to the stabbing.
Araceli Banuelos, General Manager of Mike Hess Brewing Imperial Beach, said the brewery was filling up when the victim, wearing a blue shirt, walked in with two other people. Surveillance video showed the man holding his back.
"They walked right past us, just like any other customer walking in. They weren’t in a panic," Banuelos said.
Banuelos noticed someone taking a chair into the men's restroom and sitting the man down. She sent her husband, a Coast Guard veteran, inside to check on the situation. He found the man suffering from a stab wound.
"The victim was more in shock, just shaking. I think he was going into panic, because he was losing a lot of blood," Banuelos said.
Banuelos said her husband acted quickly to slow the bleeding before emergency crews arrived a few minutes later.
"He held his arm up. He got the bar towels, put it on the hip area, and held it there for him, applying pressure," Banuelos said.
An ambulance took the man to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The Sheriff's Office deployed a helicopter, but no suspects were tracked down.
The law enforcement response briefly interrupted business at the brewery.
"We kept everybody calm. Everyone stayed, hanging out," Banuelos said. "Not our normal Saturday night for sure, and that’s not a Saturday night we like to have. At the same time, I’m glad they were felt comfortable to come in, and know this is a safe space here.”
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Imperial Beach Sheriff’s Substation at 619-498-2400 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
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